A Bad Day
by EK
Summary: Oneshot. On a boring rainy day, Ginji decides to go slightly out of his way for a friend having a bad day.


Hiya. I just needed to get few things out of my head, and current ideas for Samurai 7 won't do it. As usual, only this story is mine. I miss writing for this section. Thank you for reading this oneshot.

Lyrics inside are from "Bad Day," by David Powter. Although this will not be a songfic.

………………………………………

_Where is the moment we needed the most  
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost  
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey  
They tell me your passion's gone away  
And I don't need no carryin' on_

"Very depressing song, Paul-san," he noted.

The manager lowered his dark glasses just slightly. "One you can relate to?"

He smiled just a small sad smile, and nodded a small nod.

_You stand in the line just to hit a new low  
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go  
You tell me your life's been way off line  
You're falling to pieces everytime  
And I don't need no carryin' on_

It was not helping that it was raining just outside the Honky Tonk, that it was a slow day, and that Ban had not come back from paying their traffic and parking tickets.

"If it says anything, that song is high on the charts right now, so I've heard," Paul added from behind his newspaper. "Too many people are sad nowadays."

The song kept playing on the radio while the two kept talking. "I guess it's a pick-me-up song, too, in a different way," the blonde young man in the brown vest said. "At least, there's one other person who understands the feeling. At least I'm not alone with that feeling. Get it?"

"I guess, when you put it that way," Paul nodded.

The bell of the café door clinked, and both of them looked at the door. They found the long-haired assistant shaking off the water from her umbrella. She placed the umbrella in the pail near the door, and silently walked inside. Still without saying anything, not even greeting the manager and the only other customer, she put down her school bag and slipped into her apron. Then she took their can of coffee and started filling the coffee maker with beans.

"Um, hi, Natsumi-chan," Ginji greeted.

She did not even look at him. She filled the coffee maker with warm water and started the heater.

"I hope you didn't have trouble getting here, with all that rain outside," he prodded.

She shook her head but still said nothing.

Both the manager and Ginji knew that this was highly unusual behavior out of a bubbly high school girl. Even on rainy days she was quite cheerful, saying that rainy days are needed to make sunny days more memorable. Seeing her so quiet made both of them worry.

"Are you alright, Natsumi?" the manager asked. "Do you have a cold? I can let you off early…"

She watched the coffee dripping into the pot. She took up a kettle to the sink and filled it with water. She set it on the stove to start boiling. She did not give signs of hearing what Paul asked. She took up the broom for behind the door and started sweeping the floor from the far end of the café.

The blonde young man went to her and asked. "Can I help you with that?"

She smiled without a word, and shook her head. Then she looked down at the floor again and continued sweeping. The young man heard her humming a slow, and sad, song while taking the broom under the tables.

He began to sing softly:

"You had a bad day  
You're taking one down  
You sing a sad song just to turn it around  
You say you don't know  
You tell me don't lie  
You work at a smile and you go for a ride…."

She turned around to look at him, but sighed and said nothing. He continued:

"You had a bad day  
The camera don't lie  
You're coming back down and you really don't mind  
You had a bad day…"

She sighed. "Yes, I did. Please stop singing."

Ginji lowered his head. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No, that's alright. You do sing quite nicely, though." She resumed sweeping.

He scratched his head. "This won't do, at all!"

While Natsumi kept sweeping the café floor, Ginji went to the kitchen and took out a few items from inside the refrigerator. Mayonnaise, tuna, lettuce, a tomato. He got a loaf of bread from one of the shelves.

Trying as best as he could, as best as he could remember from watching her, he combined mayonnaise with tuna, placed the spread over one piece of bread, then topped this with lettuce, slices of tomato, and another piece of bread. Then, as he usually saw her do, he sliced the sandwich to make two triangles. Out of the refrigerator he also got a soda can and some ice. He placed the ice into a glass, poured the soda into it, then stuck a straw into the glass.

"Um….Ginji…." Paul interrupted.

"Ban-chan gave me some money this morning, so that's how I'll pay for this sandwich," he said.

But Paul more or less understood what he was doing. "Oh, don't bother. It's on the house."

"Thanks, Paul-san."

He placed the sandwich onto a saucer, then placed the saucer and glass onto a tray. Walking slowly, he brought the tray to one of the tables, the one closest to where Natsumi was sweeping.

He gently placed a hand on the broom, and took the broom away from her with a smile. He gestured to the table with the tray, and asked her to sit down. He quietly placed the tuna sandwich and glass off the tray and to the table. He gave her a little pat on the shoulder, then sat across her.

She looked at the sandwich in front of her for a while. The triangle was a bit skewed and tuna spread oozed out of the corners. Still, she knew the effort that went into the sandwich. She raised one half of the sandwich and started nibbling, slowly, listlessly, silently.

But she did finish the sandwich, and the soda that came with it. However, it did nothing to lighten her up. If anything, it seemed like it made her look worse.

"I'm sorry," he said. "You didn't like it?"

She shook her head.

"I'm really sorry!"

She sighed. "No, Ginji-san. The sandwich was okay."

He smiled.

She took a deep breath, then let it all out in a long sigh. "Algebra finals. I did awful."

He frowned on her behalf. "Aw, come on, Natsumi-chan, you're just being modest…"

"No. I did awful." She kept looking at the floor. "The answer key came out today. I didn't even get half the solutions right."

"That means…"

"I'll fail algebra. My father will be mad at me when he finds out." She sniffed and tried to hold back a few tears. Still, a few still came out, which she patted with a handkerchief.

"But isn't there anything you can do about the all-jee…um…all-jaa….zebra…"

"Algebra. There's a summer class, and if I do good then I won't be held back. All the same...My dad….He'll breathe down my neck. It's because of all those clubs you're in….it's because of that café you work in at night…and just who are those two bunglers I keep hearing from you…."

"Bunglers!" Then he sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's all we are….loafers and bunglers…"

"I didn't mean it that way, Ginji-san," she quickly apologized.

"Yes, I know," he frowned. "No big deal."

She sighed again.

He stood up in front of her. "Look, Natsumi," without endearment terms, "I know I'm no good at any kind of math, and I know I've never really been to school. But I know that one of my friends is feeling sad, and I'll do everything I can to make it easier to bear. Because I know it feels terrible to be alone when I have a big problem, and I don't want it to happen to any of my friends. Okay?"

She looked at him for a while, not knowing what to say.

"So, fine, I'm a loafer and a bungler who doesn't know all-zebra from triangle-o-metry, or something like that. But you know that math stuff, and I believe in you, and I know that you're doing your best with it. Even if you, um, take the summer class, I'll be here rooting for you. Okay? I know that maybe it doesn't sound sincere and all, but trust me on this, Natsumi, hearing it is better than nothing at all. I've been there, and I know. That's all I have left to say."

But he moved to her side of the table, and sat beside her. Then, without warning, without asking, he slowly placed an arm around her shoulders, and let her lean her head on his own shoulder.

She was surprised, in a good way. And before she could stop herself, she gave him a tight hug, as a few tears fell.

He placed a hand over her head. "You'll be okay, Natsumi-chan. I know that," he said.

She held on to him for a few more minutes, before she gave him a final tight hug and let go. "Thank you, Ginji-san."

"You're welcome," he grinned and said, as he took up the empty saucer and glass.

He washed the used dishes for a few minutes, while she looked on. Paul lowered his newspaper for a while, and saw that a little of her worry had already left. It was the power of Ginji at work again, the kindness that ultimately controlled the darker forces inside him.

"I'll walk you home?"

It was more like a statement of fact. He was already getting her umbrella and holding her hand.

"Okay," she smiled.

………………………………

I think you can guess what my own bad day was about, the one that inspired this little thing. Sorry if you expected more action or something. But thank you so much for reading.


End file.
